Suffolk County is a predominantly suburban county on Long Island and the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the county’s population was 1,493,350, estimated to have decreased slightly to 1,492,953 in 2017, making it the fourth-most populous county in New York. Its county seat is Riverhead, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. The county was named after the county of Suffolk in England, from where its earliest European settlers came.

In 2018, Nassau County, NY had a population of 1.36M people with a median age of 41.7 and a median household income of $116,304. Between 2017 and 2018 the population of Nassau County, NY declined from 1.37M to 1.36M, a -0.816% decrease and its median household income grew from $108,133 to $116,304, a 7.56% increase.

Long Island was built as America’s first suburb, envisoned as a land of opportunity, accessibility, and upward mobility for an expanding middle class. HWCLI is committed to ensuring that this dream is available to all of our neighbors, accross every zip code and every town. Ours is often perceived as an affluent region. However, studies show that poverty here is complex, nuanced issue affecting more of our neighbors than meets the eye.

The poverty rate on Long Island is the highest it has been in more than 50 years, with approximately 197,000 people living below the national poverty line - but even this staggering statistic does not tell the whole story. There are nearly 268,000 additional households on Long Island with incomes above the national poverty level that fall below the budget calculated to account for basic needs here.

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Established in 1947, the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island (HWCLI) is a regional, nonprofit umbrella organization for health and human service providers. We are dedicated to improving the lives of Long Island’s most vulnerable residents by responding to their needs through the promotion and development of public policies and direct services.